Woman who found husband collapsed in bathroom reveals one skill that saved his life
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: British Heart Foundation
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships
A woman has opened up about the moment she found her husband collapsed.
In July 2021, Krystalla Panayi-Davidson was weeks away from giving birth and heard an 'almighty crash' come from the bathroom.
She managed to burst through the door and found her husband Lee 'contorted' on the floor and 'knew immediately something was really wrong'.
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In a post to the British Heart Foundation's website, Krystalla opened up about finding her husband.
She recalled: "I managed to roll Lee over as he was on his side with his head wedged under the bath. God knows how I managed that as I was eight months pregnant, but adrenaline just kicked in. When I turned him over, I could see he was struggling to breathe.
"I bolted downstairs to get my phone, ran back to Lee and rang 999. By that time he was not breathing so in that moment I just went into autopilot and knew I needed to start CPR immediately."
Thankfully, Krystalla's role as a primary school teacher meant she'd been trained 'a few times' how to do CPR.
Healthline explains: "Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique. It aims to keep blood and oxygen flowing through the body when a person’s heart and breathing have stopped."
She also had the CPR outlined for her by the emergency call handler who stayed on the phone with her supporting her through it until the paramedics arrived at the house.
Emergency services took over the CPR and shocked Lee with a defibrillator and 'after three shocks Lee started breathing again', Krystalla added.
And not only did Krystalla's quick-thinking and training save her partner's life, alongside ensuring she still had Lee in her life, but also ensured her daughter has a father too.
Lee was then taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma but was awoken three days later.
"We’d already decided to call our daughter Martha and the first thing he said to me after waking up was: ‘Where’s Martha?’. He did not remember that she had not been born yet," Krystalla recalled.
Lee reflected how 'lucky' he is his wife 'knew how to do CPR' with Krystalla adding it meant she was 'able to jump into action in that moment'.
Healthline notes CPR is used for 'people experiencing a cardiac arrest'.
"A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, but the person is still conscious and not yet in cardiac arrest," it continues. "Someone experiencing a heart attack may go into cardiac arrest and should go to the hospital immediately."
There are two types of CPR - Hands-only CPR and traditional CPR with breaths. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends 'people who haven’t received CPR training initiate “hands-only” CPR' - the method 'remov[ing] the rescue breathing and is easy to perform and is proven to save lives'.
But getting training could ultimately save lives, Krystalla resolving: "I take so many photos of Martha and Lee together, because this is something I might never have seen. It’s the little moments that make me emotional, like seeing Lee read or sing to Martha.
"I think he’s an amazing person and the thought that he almost did not get to meet this incredible little human being is heartbreaking."